Homestyles Aspen Rustic Cherry Kitchen Island with Wood Drop Leaf, 48"W

I went into this project equipped with my PhD in Ikeaology, and I thought, really, how challenging could this be with so few pieces of wood (it comes shipped in three very heavy boxes that give the impression of lots of pieces…it’s really not). Lemme break down some VERY valuable points for you before you take this project on:1. Leave your muscle out of this. Tighter does NOT mean better, matter of fact, I quickly learned the value of not deeply screwing the screws into the wood which eventually slide into the cam bolts. DO NOT screw those screws completely flush to the wood. Doing so will snap the cam bolts like plastic. The cam bolts are likely dicast metal and act like cheap plastic. Pictured on my review are six or so bolts that broke very easily when turning the cam bolts to catch the head of the screws. Turns out it does make a huge difference with just a millimeter or so above the surface of the wood. If it doesn’t meet the cam bolt just right, the cam WILL break. Fortunately they provide you with a significant number of extra cam bolts, likely knowing you will need them.2. Go slow and deliberate when assembling this furniture. Read the instructions very carefully and study the pictures. When I got the entire unit assembled, I realized the beautiful side sliders on each side of the unit were reversed and I had to disassemble the previous few steps to pull them off and correct my careless work. Just remember, the side slider units should slide out towards you FROM THE BACK OF THE UNIT NOT THE FRONT. It’s those sliding units that hold the smaller hinged tabletop where they rest on top. Big ah-ha moment for me. Fortunately it was quick and easy to correct.3. I have my fair share of experience assembling furniture after 11 moves the past 25 years. From start to finish, it took me about four hours, including the correction of my stupid mistake in reversing the side sliders. The most surprising challenge? Assembling the dang drawers. The flat plywood bottoms don’t exactly slide smoothly into the grooved tracks as one might think. Maybe mine was engineered differently than others but the flat plywood bowed a bit, making it a challenge to get the four sides to fit together. But once I got them together, it was a beautiful thing. The drawer hardware is also very high quality. I’d have bought the handles myself if I saw them at Lowe’s or HD. They’re sweet looking.Yes, this unit is expensive and for me personally, I divided this puppy into a few payments to reduce the hemorrhaging of my credit card, but it is worth every single penny in my opinion. I’ve been wanting a unit like this for a very long time and you definitely get what you pay for. Cheaper units are just that. Cheap. Enjoy the ride and enjoy this beautiful unit. It’s very solid and well built. The wood quality is excellent. I can’t say enough good things about the final product. I don’t think I’ll ever leave my kitchen. And the bar stools I purchased separately were made for this baby. It’s like they were made for it. Comfortable and not obtrusive. Martha Stewart would be proud.

DELIVERYFirst, a big shout out to Amazon Prime: I ordered this item on Wednesday evening (at 6:00 P.M. or so), and it arrived Thursday at 11:00 A.M.! That may just be because of my location, but WOW!WEIGHT AND CONDITIONI am an average-sized woman, and my 11 year-old son and I were able to lift the boxes in from the garage, where UPS had brought them (kudos to my son, BTW: one box was 70 pounds). There was minimal denting to the boxes, and pieces were VERY well packed with styrofoam edging (one box even had particleboard edging to support the box structure [the particleboard was not part of the structure of the island]), so we only had a very small nick on one piece (which isn't even visible when the cabinet is closed).DIRECTIONSThe directions are very clear (except that you should know when it says to "insert" the cam screws, it means to go ahead and screw them in; I thought it meant just to start them until a later step). (I started them with a handheld screwdriver, and used my drill to finish them. I wouldn't suggest starting with a drill, as the screws can go off-course, and split the wood.) A few of my screws were flat heads when it said round, and it said to use 1 1/4" screws (which weren't part of the hardware) in the last step of the drawers, but there were plenty of 1" screws (used in the other step for the drawers), so I just used those.ASSEMBLYI am a meticulous/careful worker, so it may have taken me longer than most (and I took breaks for dinner, etc.), but I had the entire thing together in five hours, and again, it was EASY to assemble; directions were very clear (I have assembled furniture before, but still think a first-timer could make sense of things). The most difficult part was the cabinet door: I had to reposition the catch so it lined up properly (if you have to do this, I advise saving frustration by just drilling new pilot holes). I did need my husband to help me lift the countertop onto the base at the end, but was able to do everything else myself.STORAGE SPACE and USE IDEASI wondered about this when looking online, so thought I would share:The cabinet door storage space is 19" D x18"W x 20.5"H with an adjustable shelf.Drawers are 17" D x 14"W. Top two drawers are 2.5" H; lower two drawers are 7.5" H.These are all inside measurements.I haven't put anything in it yet, but purchased the island because I moved into a much smaller kitchen (storage and countertop-wise) than I had had at my previous home. This will go a long way toward storing my everyday items that were the basement! To share our idea: since we have a dining room, we put this in the eat-in area of our kitchen (which is large), and it makes the kitchen feel larger--expands the prep area out into the eat-in area. Also, my kiddos will be able to have breakfast in the kitchen, and have a spot for homework.We did consider adding a full granite top, expanding the sides by 12" so that we have more spots for stools, but it's so beautiful the way it is, I think we'll hold off on spending the extra money for now!APPEARANCE and STRUCTUREThe wood is beautiful! The cherry in my kitchen is slightly more orange (or lighter red), but this does have a beautiful reddish tone, and since it's not right next to my other cabinets, I don't think anyone will ever notice it's not an exact match. It is made of sturdy wood--no particleboard, even in the drawers (which roll in and out beautifully). It is a solid piece of furniture... and one more thing: one reason we did not have an island installed is because we didn't want to mar our hardwood floors. The stationary part of this island has rubber (maybe plastic) "bumpers" on the feet. The pull-out legs (which support the leaf) are on wheels, so our floor is pretty safe (though I would still lift it if you need to move it). The toe kick around the bottom still gives it the appearance of built-in. With the leaf up, it is an impressive island space. I finally have room to spread out and make a pie!!!Other reviews have mentioned that the surface will scratch easily, and we all know how wood and water mix, so I may invest in a glass top (also, I don't really want to roll out my pie crust onto the wood). Other than that, it is perfect the way it is! So glad we purchased it.